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Although, in the end, the Norman army was victorious. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoBut because of the opponent's eventual frantic resistance, and as a result, the own army suffered a large number of casualties. The Norman army, up and down, from General Farr to ordinary soldiers, was not happy. Some of the Norman soldiers, who had died in many robes, were clamoring to slaughter all the Swiss who had surrendered before. Although this did not come to fruition in the end, several soldiers who took the lead in making trouble were arrested by General Farr and beaten dozens of military sticks. It looks like I haven't been able to get out of bed for months. But the dislike of the Swiss spread throughout the Norman army.

Of course, this disgust is not due to the fierce resistance of the other party. There are reasons for the excessive casualties on your side, but they are not the point. The point is that the way the Swiss finally preserved their strength is despicable.

From the very beginning, the Swiss were unexpectedly able to conserve their strength even when they ran out of supplies without supplies. Many Normans became suspicious. And after the end of the war, the positions of the Swiss were inspected, and several Swiss mercenaries who were seriously wounded and captured were strictly interrogated. This question was finally answered.

Indeed, at the most critical moment, the Swiss people ate human flesh in order to maintain their fighting ability. The human bones found in their camp, as well as the scraps of meat, and the Norman armoured weapons next to the bones, proved this - they ate the Norman soldiers who came to attack and were eventually killed. Or their blood. In these days, the Swiss people rely on eating the meat of the Normans and drinking their blood to ensure their strength. This is why the Norman soldiers were so angry with the Swiss.

"It's crazy......"

When General Farr wrote these things down and sent them to the Norman Emperor's desk, the Emperor sighed. At the same time, he gave instructions to General Farr's headquarters: "The captured Swiss may not be killed." However, they will be held accountable for the mistakes they have made. As serfs, it was inevitable that hard labor would go to farming and mining. Still, I can assure you. Their treatment was comparable to that of ordinary serfs. After a period of work, you can be free.

And for those who committed the most heinous crimes, that is, offended the majesty of the Norman Empire. At the same time, those who disobey God's will and eat human flesh must be severely punished. I command you to chop up their filthy bodies and throw those foul-smelling flesh at the wild dogs. Hang their heads from a tree, and let the wind and rain beat and the birds peck at them.

Their families also have to pay the price. No matter how estranged. Just have a little relationship with them. Relatives, friends, neighbors. Don't even let go of the bakery they frequent! I want them all to die, and I will use my blood to warn those ignorant people who try to oppose me and the empire, what a miserable fate they will be!"

This letter was sent back to General Farr's headquarters a few days later. By this time, the general had reached the city of Bern. As I said before, the Swiss parliament was originally going to send 60,000 troops. In the end, it was because of the inconvenience of the road, and other reasons. In the end, only 50,000 horses were dispatched. Originally, the lawmakers were complaining about it. But now they are glad about it.

That 10,000 or so, an army on paper. In the end, more than 7,000 arrived in Bern. Plus a small number of routs, as well as the citizens of Bern. The Swiss parliament will be able to muster nearly 10,000 soldiers at this moment. If it weren't for the fact that those people were late. Then Bern may not be able to struggle even the last bit of struggle.

Bern is different from the city that General Farr had captured before. Switzerland was destitute and fought the enemy, mostly in the mountains. So it doesn't focus on urban defense. There is also no capital to build strong city defenses. The walls of Bern are mostly made of wood. Defense is quite weak. However, the location of the city is quite good. This made General Fall a little distressed.

A fast-flowing river of Aare guards the eastern part of the city. A wooden bridge that would have been passable was demolished by the Swiss the other day. And the rushing river also stopped the Norman army from forcing it to cross. And in the west of Bern. It is a series of mountains with quite high terrain. Easy to defend and difficult to attack. At the same time, it is also a small number of stone walls of the Swiss, as well as a place for key defenses.

This kind of terrain made General Farr find it a little difficult to start. Plus a previous war. The losses of the Norman army were neither too much nor too little - more than 3,000 Norman soldiers were killed. The number of wounded was also more than a thousand. Such casualties were also a nuisance for the Norman army.

"It's really ......" At this moment, General Farr saw the emperor's letter. Between the lines, the killing intent was full of them, which made the general feel even heavier. General Farr could feel the wrath of his sovereign. And he also felt that as a courtier, he had an obligation to appease the wrath of the lord. Therefore, the general worked harder for the capture of Bern.

"The feint is done. After thinking about it for a long time, General Farr made a decision. Sent a large number of troops to the east of the city, between the mountains. Make a strong offensive stance. And let a small number of elite troops, artillery and baggage troops, and engineering troops stay on the other side of the Aare River to the west. Prepare for a loud fight.

This cunning general, talked to the commanders of the engineering corps. If you want to build a bridge over the Aare River, it will take more than ten days according to the normal way. Too long to say, and not in line with the raid that General Fall had in mind. However, the engineers also came up with another plan - the narrowest point of the Aare River is only 10 meters. Suppose they built some very strong wooden and iron shelves, and then went straight across the river. It can be used as a simple bridge.

"So, can such a bridge be accompanied by artillery?" asked General Farr, whose eyes lit up after listening to the proposal of the commander of the engineering corps.

"This ...... I'm afraid not. Because the guns were too heavy. And the production time you asked for was relatively short, General. So we could barely make an easy bridge that could pass through the infantry. The commander of the engineering corps was slightly embarrassed and then said this.

"Are there only infantry...... That's pretty much it. General Farr thought about it for a moment, and the other side was a city wall, but in fact it was just a slightly higher wooden fence. At a height of three meters, you can pass by a personal ladder. As long as the raid is successful, then it is not impossible not to use artillery......

In this way, the two sides agreed on a battle plan, and General Farr asked them to make more improvised ladders. Then they put them aside. Turning around, he went to the west and commanded the Norman army to make a feint.

A famous general deserves to be a famous general. The feint attack in the mountains on the western side, under the command of General Farr, was only inferior in numbers compared to the real attack. General Farr had a way of making the attack appear grandiose, but in fact it was dispatched, and the force consumed was not very large. Coupled with the new defeat of the Swiss army, the Normans were afraid of something. At the same time, the commanders who were able to fight well had basically died in the previous wars, and now in Bern were either cowards or countrymen in poor ravines.

The combination of these elements made General Farr's feint tactics a success. The Bernese army had determined that the west was the main direction of the Norman army. And most of the troops facing the river to the east were transferred. And on the same night that Bern deployed its troops. General Farr's surprise tactics have begun!

The general returned to the east of Bern and watched as the engineers toppled two large shelf-looking shelves. The shelf fell upside down, and the other end fell directly on the opposite beach. The dust of the earthquake was flying. A few soldiers with good surnames ran over, pressed the shelves hard, and walked over cautiously step by step. When he found that nothing was going on, he beckoned to the other side of the river. General Farr immediately ordered: "Commando, attack!"

And so the offensive began. The so-called assault team consisted of 2,000 men, all of whom were Norman assault infantry who had stripped off their full plate armor and left only their cuirasses. They carried a long-handled battle axe in one hand and a simple ladder in the other. Then, after a short rest, he ran towards the city of Bern, erected a ladder and quickly climbed upward, like a squirrel, with great agility with one hand. They climbed to the top of the city in two clicks. Immediately afterwards, he jumped straight off the city wall. A height of three meters is not difficult for these soldiers at all. Not even a louder voice came out.

In this way, in less than two hours, a total of 2,000 Norman soldiers entered the city of Bern. And the few troops that the Swiss put in the east, because of lack of vigilance, lack of experience. I haven't even found out about it yet......

Immediately afterward, the sound of intense burning, the roar of rage, and the screams of the dying came from the city of Bern. And the range is getting bigger. It's about to spread to the whole city.

"Good!" General Farr shouted with a flick of his fist. Immediately afterwards, I saw the Norman black and white phoenix flag erected at the head of the city of Bern. With another wave of his hand, he roared, "Follow-up troops forward!" After that, five thousand lightly armed, wearing only cuirass, Norman infantry ran along the bridge. By the time they had all crossed the river, it was four o'clock in the morning, and the sky was shining. And the shouting and killing in the city of Bern has also spread to the center of the city, the most glorious house.

The Swiss troops, which were already low in morale, lost their fighting spirit after discovering that there were suddenly so many Normans in the city. Disarm and surrender. And the last bit of troops is constantly losing and retreating. Eventually, they were huddled in the Swiss House in the heart of the city. There are only a few hundred broken troops left in the house, and in any case, even the most optimistic people cannot hope for their future......

(To be continued)